


The Silent Angel

by Lolpuppy101



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Aphonia, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Developing Relationship, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), M/M, Mute Keith, Muteness, Pining Keith (Voltron), Slow Burn, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), Trans Female Pidge | Katie Holt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-16 05:29:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11822190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lolpuppy101/pseuds/Lolpuppy101
Summary: Lance usually is able to hold his own. But when a bad decision goes wrong, he's in need of some help. Thankfully Keith is there to save the day. Lance then swears to return the favor in some way, that way being making the mute boy feel a little less lonely. But as time goes on, Lance realizes something between him and Keith. Something Keith may have been already feeling for a while.





	1. It All Started With A Fight

**Author's Note:**

> I finally got back into Voltron and just couldn't help but write a fic. This plot has probably been done a thousand times but I don't really care too much. Just some side notes; in this work Katie is a transgirl and Pidge is just a silly nickname her friends gave her. Another thing is that I'm going to be more focused on my RWBY fic than this one, so this fic will update basically whenever I finish a chapter. Also I really don't know long or short this fic will be. I'm just going to write until I feel like it should stop.

Pidge was right. She was so fucking right. He should have listened to her warning and not have done it. But he didn't. Lance ignored her and flirted with Nyma. Nyma was not only popular, head cheerleader, and could kick anyone's ass with no problem but was also dating Rolo. He was one of the most feared people at school. In Lance’s defense, he didn't know the last fact about Nyma. But that was what Pidge was trying to say as Lance stupidly marched up to her and her friends outside the school. 

Lance could only get a few sentences out before his hood was yanked with great force. He was dragged to the back of the building with the girls laughing at his impending doom. That's how the young boy found himself getting the ever loving shit beat out of him. Rolo watched on the sides as three of his men kick and punch Lance. Oddly enough, it was not the beating that really hurt Lance. It was what Rolo was shouting on the sidelines. What made the man so dangerous was that he hurt you physically and mentally. He knew how to get to you in every way possible.

He did not use Lance’s sexuality on him like most would think, because everyone at the school knew he took that in stride. Lance was proud of those parts and made sure everyone knew. Rolo did not even have to go that low, for his true weakness was his worth in the world. Lance built a ‘fake it til you make it’ persona around himself in hopes it would work. He got more confident in his actions and words, but never in how he thought of himself. Rolo spat venom at Lance that made wounds worst than his physical ones. The boy did not last very long and gave up fighting back quite quickly.

The small group suddenly stopped and watched Lance. He was bruised everywhere and bleeding from various cut and his now broken noise. He tried to catch his breathe but it hurt to breath. A pair of hands forced him from his fetal position onto his back and held him down. One of the guys took Lance’s left arm and laid it out away from him. “Now you piece of shit,” Rolo said, “since you've been dying to put your arm around my girl, I'm gonna make sure you never can.”

As one of the guys held him down he could see from the corner of his eyes Rolo getting something out from behind one of the garbage cans. Suddenly, he was carrying an older looking baseball bat that had what could only be dried blood stains. Lance immediately realized what he was going to do. He tried to move away, but the man on him was too strong. That and Lance was too weak. Rolo got into position, taunting Lance by lining up where he was going to hit. He was determined to break his arm. The younger boy on the ground could only squeeze his eyes shut and wait for the pain. 

One of Rolo’s men stepped aside earlier to keep a look out. There were no signs of trouble until a kid about the rest of the guys’ age walked by. His red hood hid most of his face as he walked and he kept his hands in the hood’s pockets. The kid stopped in front of the look out and got a small glimpse of what was happening. “Move along, nothing to see here. Just business.” he said with a smirk to the red hooded figure. But the kid began making his way towards them instead. 

“Hey shit face!” the lookout said, standing in the kid’s way again. “I said move alo-” he was cut short. A sudden and powerfully sharp pain suddenly hit him in his stomach. It was caused by non other than the kid in the red hood. The lookout was on his knees in pain from one simple pouch. The figure continued his way towards the group until he caught Rolo’s attention. Rolo simply motioned to the kid with his bat and his buddy already went over to face to intruder. But the man could only swing one punch. Once he did that the kid ducked down and kneed him with great strength in the crotch region. As Rolo’s buddy bent forward in pain, the kid quickly moved behind him and kicked him forward into the ground.

The mysterious kid turned to Rolo just as the ladder noticed his two buddies on the ground in pain. He took one step forward, but the figure gave a clear warning. That warning was in the form of a sharp knife hidden inside his hood pocket. Rolo looked back at Lance. Then he mumbled, “You got fucking lucky.” before taking off. When he started running, his two buddies immediately followed his, trying to act tough. The figure watched them leave until Lance started coughing heavily.  
The figure went up next to him. It was hard to see his face behind the hood, but he looked around Lance’s age. It was hard to see anything really as Lance slowly started to pass out. His vision was darkening as a he felt himself being shaken viciously.

~

When Lance finally come to, he was in an unfamiliar room. He was on a soft couch, wrapped in a soft blanket, in a room that was like a basic living room. Lance also had a bag of frozen peas on his face. The couch faced a large television on top of a table with multiple cabinets. There was a long brown coffee table in front him that had a vase with flowers in it, a magazine for motorcycles, and a cup of hot tea. Next to the table was his school bag. In the rest of the room was a large bookshelf filled with a fuck ton of books, a screen door near the T.V. that led outside, two chairs more off to a corner with a side table and an ugly lamp, plants, and a shit ton of pictures on the walls. Lance’s vision was still a bit hazy so it was hard to see their faces. To the right of the room was a long hallway with a few doors that ended at one with a mat and pairs of shoes in front of it, and to the left was an open kitchen. Behind him were two slightly bigger doors that lead to somewhere else.

“Oh! You’re up!” a man’s voice said happily from the kitchen. The sudden voice made Lance yelp in surprise and the old bag fall of his face. When he turned, he was even more surprised by who it was. Takashi Shirogane stood there holding two cups of tea. He knew the man from school, for he was a teacher and teacher’s assistant depending on the day. He was loved and respected by everyone in the school, especially other teachers due to him bring people coffees when he knows they need it. 

Lance was not expecting to see him after getting rescued. Especially because it definitely was not him who rescued Lance. But he was less on edge knowing other man was there with him. “Hey Mr. Takashi.” Lance greeted. 

The man let out a small groan with a smirk on his face. “I told you guys to just call me Shiro.” He walked over to the younger kid.

“Right, forgot. Sorry Shiro.” Lance said. “So, what am I doing here? Last I remember I was at the back of the school.” 

“Yeah, But after Keith found you he texted me, we brought you here, and helped me patch you up.” Shiro said happily. But Lance was staring at him.

“Di-did you say Keith saved me? As in Keith Kogane?”

“Well he didn’t mention anything about saving, but yes. That Keith.”

Lance was mind blown. Lone wolf Keith beat up those two guys. Mr. Too Good For Anyone Else scared off Rolo and brought Lance to safety. The guy who Lance always hated for being better than him saved him from a broken arm. Keith Kogane. His thoughts were interrupted by Shiro handing him the cup of tea that was on the table and putting the cold bag back on his face. 

“I also called your mother to let her know where you were while you were out.” Lance was about to ask how he knew her number when he stated, “I’ve caught you on your phone enough times to know your password.” Lance in return gave a sheepish smile and sipped his drink. But as he sat there he was still trying to process the fact that, despite years of claiming to his friends that Keith was his rival, the dude saved him. The first thing on his to do list of was find Keith and thank him. Lance could be a bit childish, but he was not an asshole. After that was to ask Keith not to tell anyone what happened, for that was a bit embarrassing.

Thinking of the devil, one of the doors from the hallway opened up to reveal Keith walking out. The red hoodie he was wearing before was now tied around his waist. When he saw that Lance was up and Shiro was looking away for a moment, he slowly tried to head back into the room he came out of. But before he could, Shiro called out to him. Keith’s shoulders slumped down and joined them in the living room. He stood there awkwardly as Shiro handed him a cup of tea. 

“Keith,” Shiro started. “Lance said that you saved him, not just found him. Can you finally explain to me what happened?” Keith did not say anything and instead looked away towards Lance. When they locked eyes, Keith tilted his head towards Shiro. Lance looked at him confused. Keith repeated the action. 

“You want me to tell him?” Lance asked. He did not know why on Earth Keith did not just ask him verbally. Keith rolled his eyes and nodded. This for some reason pissed Lance off a little. “Don’t roll your eyes at me! Can’t you just ask me in words?!” 

Keith was about to tackle him when Shiro stopped him with an arm. Lance was already prepared to jump off the back of the couch and run in case Keith escaped. But it was hard due to Shiro’s size. “Keith calm down he probably doesn’t know.”

“Know what?” Lance asked, still ready to bolt. Keith calmed down after a moment and Shiro let him go. 

“Lance, Keith can’t talk. He’s physically unable to.” Lance was taken off guard by the new information. He looked back and forth between Keith and Shiro. Once he realized no one was pulling his leg, a wave of embarrassment and awkwardness came over him. It actually made a lot of sense. Lance looked down at himself. He let out an apology while slightly blushing at his mistake. He really did regret it. 

It was a few more minutes of awkward tension as Lance told Shiro what had happened. Shiros face when through phases of disapproval, anger, and shock. Keith also gave input on how he found him. Lance quickly realized Keith spoke sign language to communicate, and fast sign language at that. He was only a little surprised Shiro could read it at the speed he was going. Then again if they live together like Lance deduced, he’s likely more than used to it. According to Shiro, Keith stated he over heard Pidge worrying about Lance when talking to Hunk on their way home. The last time she saw him was right before he went to talk to Nyma.

When the two boys got done talking about their sides of the story, Shiro stood there in silence thinking about what to do. He sighed and turned to Lance. “We should see if your parents want to take legal charges or not.” As the boys nodded, another thing came to Lance’s mind. 

“Why didn’t you guys get an ambulance or take me to the hospital?” Lance asked hesitantly. 

“Well you didn’t break anything besides your nose, despite the heavy beating.” Shiro said while rubbing the back of his neck. Lance raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t doubt me! I have a PhD!” he said taking Lance’s bag of peas and Shiro’s empty cup to the kitchen. 

Keith was already about to leave the room when Lance called out to him.“Hey Keith!” the man turned to see Lance’s dumb smiling face. “Thanks for saving my skin! I owe you one. And I didn’t mean to be an ass earlier, sorry ‘bout that.” Keith nodded in response, ready to leave, when Lance said, “But can you not tell anyone that this happened? It’s not you, just a bit embarrassing for me.” Keith simply gave a thumbs up before he make his way into his bedroom.

When the door shut, he put his cup of tea on a shelf next to his door. The his legs gave out as he slid down the length of the door and sat on the floor. Keith let out a long exhale through his nose. Lance McClain, the obnoxious guy who he’d been secretly crushing on, was in his house. He, Keith, was the one who saved his ass. He remembered Lance’s calm face as Shiro put Lance in the back of the car. Keith would describe it as prince-like. And the look on Lance’s face when he thanked him was genuine gratitude! Lance was actually at least a little sorry he upset Keith on accident! The man actually thought Keith had other friends besides Shiro! All Keith could do in response to his thoughts was a small whine. It did not get even close to how he was feeling, but it was all that his throat let him have before it began to hurt badly.

Regardless, he felt suddenly love sick. And normal sick. Keith could not believe himself, swooning over some guy. It was worst when he first met, or rather saw, Lance though. But it was still unlike him. He hated knowing that just one person could make Keith that weak. Then again, there he was. On the floor of his bedroom, unable to get Lance out of his mind. And he would remain like that. Shiro would drive Lance home, his brother would be moving around the house cleaning, both his parents would get home from work, and it would not be until they call him to dinner would his Lance induced haze be broken.

~

Despite what happened to Lance the day prior, he still went to school. When he checked his phone saw that Hunk and Pidge were both spamming him. It was so much that his phone almost exploded. He simply told them he’ll fill them on the details the next day. His mother also took him to the doctor when he got home, and they said that he really had not broken or severely injured anything from what they could feel. Except his nose of course, which would be fine with the proper care. Lance was very surprised to see Shiro was right. He just thought the teacher was being optimistic. He was also surprised his parents did not press charges. Part of it was due to not having anything seriously injured, and part because Lance remembered Rolo’s father was a lawyer. 

Another part was because Lance did not actually tell his parents what happened. It was not because he was afraid of them, but rather he did not want them to worry about him. Instead of it being Rolo and his group attacking him, it was him falling down the stairs. Thankfully that morning one of his sisters let him use her makeup to help cover some of the bruises. It worked impressively well. The day went by just fine, and he had not seen Rolo and his group the whole day. But he was at least hoping to see Keith at some point.

At lunch he told Pidge and Hunk what had happen. Apparently Hunk was worried sick the whole day, which was completely normal for Hunk to do with them, while Pidge was only a little worried, again completely normal. They were glad to see that their friend was mostly okay though. It’d be hard without him around. Or as Pidge put it, ‘It’d be too quiet and I’d have no one to annoy me. Or to pull pranks with, and also to pull pranks on.’ They all laughed at her statement as Lance continued.

“I also learned that not only do Keith and Shiro live together, but Keith is also a mute.” he said. Hunk was only surprised at the fact Shiro and Keith lived together. Pidge knew both pieces. 

“How didn’t you know Keith has a speech impairment? You think he got out of all those public speaking assignments just because?” Pidge asked. Lance simply shrugged. He never actually took time to think about it. He was usually too busy doing something else. Such as goofing off in class.

“How’d you know about his relationship with Shiro then?” Lance asked.

“Cause my brother’s friends with Shiro jackass.” Pidge teased. “Shiro introduced him to me as his step-brother.” Hunk and Lance both let out a noise of understanding. “Apparently Keith losing his ability to speak happened when he was younger and got in a bad accident. Shiro’s mentioned it once or twice but never delved too deep into it.”

Lance nodded in understanding. He took a look around the room just see what was up. That’s when he spotted Keith at a lone table. Usually Lance would be on about how cool Keith probably thought he was. But now he decided to like at it from a new perspective. He smiled at first because Keith was signing to a random girl who walked up to him. She seemed to be giggling about something. The nice moment lasted until a second later when she left to join her friends who were also also giggling. Then he realized they were probably laughing at him, not with him. Lance found himself letting out a sigh. 

“Man, people suck.” Hunk said, who had also saw what happened. Lance suddenly got an idea. 

“We could go over there and keep him company!” 

Pidge and Hunk looked at each other. “But, we don’t know sign language.” Hunk said.

“Yeah, Shiro or Mat usually translate for me.” Pidge stated.

Lance let out a mocking laugh as he opened his bag. “Oh you millennials, have you forgotten how they did it in the old days?” Hunk was about to say how his comment made no sense at all when Lance pulled out a notebook and pencil. Lance did not take a lot of notes in class, so there was more than plenty of paper to use. He slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way to Keith. 

At the table, Keith was using his fork to play around with the bit of food in his tray. Normally he’d have a book with him, but today he woke up late and couldn’t grab one from the shelf. He blamed the fact he was thinking about Lance all night. He was deep in thought until he heard coming towards him. Keith turned to see Lance with a notebook in his hand. He mentally prepared himself for whatever was about to happen. 

“Heyo!” Lance greeted happily. He sat down with a smile. Pidge and Hunk and joined too with Pidge sitting next to Keith and Hunk next to Lance. Keith was getting a little overwhelmed. How exactly was he supposed to talk to them? It was like Lance was in his head, because just as he thought that Lance handed him the notebook with a pencil. “Hope your handwriting isn't too messy.”

Surprisingly to everyone, besides Lance, the pencil and paper tactic worked out great! Keith did not feel left out or unheard like he worried. There was always at least one person who saw him writing something down and stopped to see. It was probably Keith’s most sociable lunch. When the bell rang Keith tried to give the notebook back but Lance refused. At first he thought it was because they still had a few classes where one or more of the trio were in. So at the end of the day he tried to give it back again in front of the building. Lance was about to take off on his skateboard when Keith tugged on his sleeve. 

Lance let out a small laugh when he realised what Keith was doing. “Don’t worry dude, it’s yours. I already took out any notes I needed.” Keith rolled his eyes and put it away. But internally he was glad. He got bored in class and drew some cheesy yet embarrassing doodles. “But there is one thing I do wanna ask of you.”

Lance dug into his back pocket and pulled out his phone. “Can I get your number?” Keith did not know why he was taken aback but he was. Maybe because he just thought Lance would forget about him. Or perhaps it was because Keith did not have a lot of friends. Regardless, Keith nodded and they exchanged numbers. As Lance skated away, Keith looked down at the new contact. It was still at the edit screen. Keith gave a little glance over his shoulder before adding a little heart emoticon next to Lance’s name. It was cheesy yeah, but it satisfied Keith. Plus he didn't have to worry about Lance seeing it or anything.

It was much later on in the day while Lance was lying on the couch flipping through channels. He was not in the mood to actually watch something, he was just bored out of his mind. A giggle knocked him out of his trance. His sister was texting someone as she passed by to get to her room upstairs. It was then Lance remembered an idea he had Chemistry. “Hey Amrita?” he called.

His sister did not look up from her phone but did stop moving. “Yes brother?”

“You know ASL right? You learned it for your friend?” 

His sister looked up from her phone and chuckled. “First of all, it was not for a friend. It was for our cousin remember? Gavin?” Oh yeah, he forgot Gavin was deaf. Man, he had not seen him in a while. It was mostly due to him moving all the way to Canada for his internet girlfriend. But turned out she was not completely honest about who she was, but then again Gavin still loved and accepted her anyway. Lance still remembers the post cards they sent an-Lance snapped out of his thoughts when he remembered he was in a conversation.

“Yep, now I do.” 

“Why are you asking?” Amrita questioned while taking a seat on the couch’s arm. 

Lance put down the remote and faced her. He debated in his head whether to lie and say he just wanted to know or tell the truth. He went with the latter when he realized she would probably not teach him otherwise. “There’s this guy at school who can’t talk and he seemed pretty lonely. I thought it be nice to actually learn sign language for him to make him feel better.”

“Is it Keith?” she asked nonchalantly. Lance sat straight up. Amrita’s eyebrow went up at his reaction. “He’s in one of my classes.” 

“So, will you help me?” Lance asked dragging the ‘o’ in ‘so’.

His sister closed her eyes and thought. Lance scooted closer to her in an attempt to read what she was thinking. She opened one eye as she watched her brother scrunch his face while he tried to get in her head. Amrita sighed. “Fine.” Lance let out a squeal of delight and couple dozen ‘thank-you’s.

“Yeah, yeah, I know I’m great. Now come with me and I will show you all the books and websites I used.” And like that both him and his sister were off to her room to begin his first lesson. As she slowly began going through each letter of the alphabet, he realized how learning this could maybe be Lance’s way of thanking Keith. He could also teach it to Pidge and Hunk. The thought of fulfilling his IOU to Keith filled him with determination.


	2. A Little Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: first two paragraphs may be a little intense, involves a car crash
> 
> I can already tell this story is going to help me become less stressed out by my other story! (^̮^) Hope you enjoy and be sure to leave kudos and comments!

From the back seat of the car, Keith looked out the window. It was so dark out. So dark he could not make out his mother’s face in the passenger rear view mirror. So quite too. The only sound was the vehicle moving. His parents were not talking like they usually did. Not even the radio was on. It was muted because nothing was coming on anyways. There was no point in playing static. But honestly Keith would have preferred it over the cold silence. It wasn’t only the silence that was cold, but the inside of the car suddenly was as well. The boy, who is at the moment much younger, clutched himself in an attempt to warm up. But it did not help at all. Maybe the AC was just on too high. Perhaps his mom could turn it down.

But sadly his voice could not call out to her. When he tried it felt like a rope tightened around his throat. He gave up quickly and instead focused on the window next to him again. There Keith saw a small bright light. He got closer to the window curiously. And then it got bigger, closer. He tried to call to his dad, to warn him, but the feeling returned. His heart began pounding harder and harder, just as the light got bigger and bigger. Keith tried screaming out but the invisible rope suffocated him. Tears slowly began leaking out of his eyes uncontrollably in fear and confusion. His body was shaking. The rope kept getting tighter and tighter, though he already felt like he was going to die. But he was desperate to get either of his parents’ attention. Just as he placed his hand on the side of the passenger seat, planning to shake his mother, there was a blaring honk. It was deafening. Before Keith could even think, the bright light surrounded his vision. All he heard with the honking was his parents’ piercing screams.

Keith sat straight up in his bed. His breathing was heavy, his body was sweating and shaking, and he immediately began to tear up. Not to mention his throat was in agony. It’s been years since the incident, but it haunts him. It hurts him. Keith felt his body get out of his bed on it’s own. It knew what his routine was by now. The boy grabbed his phone and headphones from the nightstand. He played whatever music he saw right away. The music may be a bit more aggressive than one would suggest, but all that mattered was that it calmed him. He made his way into the kitchen and slowly made himself some tea. It was the only thing he could think to make at the moment. 

When the tea was done and ready, he took his cup and sat on the couch in the living room while turning on one of the lights. Keith grabbed the blanket lying on it and wrapped it around himself. When he breathed in he felt his heart skip a beat. Shiro must have forgot to wash it because it still smelt like Lance. It was a nice scent. It made Keith feel warm and safe. His face buried into the blanket as his last few tears fell. He shut his eyes, allowing himself to focus on the music in his ears, Lance’s fragrance in his nose, and the blanket on his face. Occasionally he’d open them to grab his tea and take a sip. It reminded him of when he was sick and Shiro would bring him a cup without even being asked.   
Keith was so wrapped up in his thoughts he did not hear one of the doors in the hallway open and close. It was not until a soft, “Keith?” startled him slightly. He turned to see Shiro’s mother Kiyoko watching him with worried eyes. He shut off his music and removed his headphones to hear her more clearer. “Are you alright?”

Keith only nodded. His face was still red and puffy from crying while his eyes were droopy and tired. His hair was a mess and his body was weak. He did not look alright at all. Kiyoko walked over and sat down next to him. Keith looked at the floor. “Bad dream?” she asked quietly. There was a long moment of hesitation before he nodded again. He felt an arm wrap around him and pull him closer. His head fell onto her shoulder as she comforted him. She planted a soft kiss on the top of his head and put her’s on top of it. The family knew of what happened to Keith when they took him in, and swore to make sure he was comforted and safe. Keith did not like being babied, but this was different. He needed this. He sat there with her in the silence. But unlike the dream memory, the silence was comforting. Keith could feel her hand rub his shoulder through the blanket. He felt his eyes slowly flutter close at her touch. He would later wake up on the couch in the morning in the same blanket but with a soft pillow, as well as the delicious smell of Shiro’s waffles. 

-

Lance did not share that he was learning sign language to Keith the next day at school. He had two reasons. One was that he wanted it to be more of a surprise, and two was that he was still a beginner. It was hard for him to remember all the exact rules to it, but his sister reassured him that he was doing well for someone who normally can’t remember shit. He was also hesitant to tell Hunk and Pidge, but ended up doing so when Pidge caught him practicing during study hall and told Hunk. They both promised to not say anything to keep the surprise, but he kept an eye on them.

During lunch Pidge was going off about a new game coming out and her excitement for it. Hunk was sharing in her joy, but Lance found himself on the opposite end. He saw it more as a big promise that will turn out to be an even bigger let down. But he wasn’t going to rain on his friends’ parades. His eyes caught a glance of Keith in the notebook, but he was not writing in it. Rather he was drawing really small pictures in the corners. He had to stifle a giggle when he saw what Keith was focused on. 

“Aw, it’s adorable.” Lance said watching Keith. In the corner of the page, Keith was in the process of drawing a very small hippopotamus. Pidge and Hunk came to a halt and checked what Lance was referring to. Keith covered the picture with his hand while blushing. Lance picked up the pencil and forcibly moved Keith’s hand from the hippo. He quickly scribbled a small shark next to Keith’s animal with it smiling and waving a fin. Lance sat back confidently at his masterpiece with his arms folded and a proud smile. 

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “Why’d you draw a shark?” she asked. Lance scoffed.

“Because as Bob Ross probably said once, ‘Everyone needs a friend’!”

“Cute quote but I was referring to why it was a dumb shark in particular?” Pidge said with a shitty grin.

Lance gasped. “Sharks are amazing, gentle yet scary beasts of the sea.” Pidge rolled her eyes and snatched the pencil from Lance. In the space above the shark and hippo she drew a flying owl. There was a speech bubble that had the words ‘hoot hoot mofos’ in it. Lance rolled his eyes “Owls don’t curse Pidge.”

Keith took out his spare pencil and quickly wrote down ‘Sharks don’t smile or wave either’. Pidge laughed and stuck out her middle finger at Lance. Keith then noticed Hunk take the pencil from Pidge and begin to draw. Lance and Pidge went back and forth defending their drawings while Hunk finished. There was a small dog with floppy ears and was sticking out his tongue. 

“Dogs are great.” Hunk commented with a happy smile. Keith nodded back. He favored cats over dogs but he still thought they were pretty cute too. When he nodded Hunk said, “I feel like you’d like my dog Hailey. She’s just a big ol’ softy and a couch potato. Pidge sometimes brings her dog Bae Bae and they have little doggy play dates!” Keith did not quite know why, but at that moment he made an internal promise to protect Hunk and his love for dogs at all costs.

Pidge and Lance continued their little battle until Lance suddenly stopped. He did not know why but Rolo was suddenly heading towards their table. He walked confidently with two guys. They were the same two as the ones who helped attack Lance. The rest of the group only watch as Rolo stopped at the table’s end. “Hey Lancey Lance. Good to see you again.” He greeted. There was nothing friendly about it though.

“What do you want Rolo?” Lance asked coldly. Just when he was enjoying himself. 

“We just wanted to remind you that you still have a price to pay. You didn’t think you’d get out of it just because your little friend showed up, did ya?”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well he kicked your buddies’ asses pretty easily.”

Rolo took that as a threat. He grabbed Lance by the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer. “You really wanna fuck with me?”

Pidge and Hunk could only sit and watch. They were in no way fighters. Pidge was usually a fighter with her words, but this situation did not need that. But Keith was having none of it. He grabbed the back of Lance’s jacket and yanked him away from Rolo. His stare was deadly and locked with Rolo’s. The rest of the group watched anxiously to see what would happen, but Lance on the other hand wanted to just not be in between the two. Rolo clicked his tongue and held up a lazy hand. “Come on guys. We got better things to do that deal with these pathetic losers.” he said and they instantly started to walk away. Keith watched them go, catching Rolo glance back for a second.

The trio stared back at Keith in amazement. “Dude, you saved my ass again!” Lance almost shouted. 

“He just backed down! Keith was like some kind of angry bear to him.” Hunk commented. Pidge nodded. But Keith was not focused on their amazement. He was distracted with an almost sadden look on his face. The group noticed this.

“Keith, you good buddy?” Lance asked placing a hand on Keith’s shoulder. He moved Lance’s hand off though. 

Keith grabbed the pencil and hesitantly wrote ‘Rolo and I used to date. That’s why he didn’t attack me.’ 

The group gave a collective ‘Oh!’. “That kinda makes sense.” Pidge commented. But millions of little question popped into Lance’s head. Why would Keith date Rolo? Why would they have broken up? Was it mutual or one sided? Did they fuck?

Lance did not know where to start, until Hunk asked, “Why’d would you date that guy in the first place? He’s kind of a dick.” 

Keith seemed to have gotten embarrassed by the question. He started blushing. ‘It was a rebellious phase. I don’t wanna write about it.’ he wrote rather quickly. The trio shared a laugh but understood his wish. But the thought still lingered in Lance’s head.

\- 

Later into the week, at the end of school one day, Keith was waiting for Lance at the steps of the building patiently. Earlier in one of his classes Lance texted Keith if he could help him with some homework. They texted it over and decided to go to Keith’s house because it would be less busy. Lance apparently had quite a few people living in his house.  
Keith was staring off into space when he felt a slight pain on the back off his head. He turned angrily to see Lance with a small grin and the folder he hit him with. “Hey mullet!” Lance greeted happily. Keith raised his eyebrow and got out the notebook. 

‘Why are you so cheery?’ he wrote.

When Lance read it he simply shrugged. “End of the day I guess.” Keith nodded understanding the feeling.

When they got to the house Keith was surprised to see Shiro on the couch watching T.V. Normally, unless it’s an emergency like the one a few days ago, he would still be at the school. Shiro turned when he heard the door closed. “Afternoon Keith, Lance.” he greeted.

Keith raised an eyebrow. ‘Why are you home so early?’ he signed to Shiro. 

“I had to get my arm checked remember?” It suddenly dawned on Keith that Shiro was telling the truth. He had explained it to him earlier that morning. His prosthetic arm had to be checked on every now and then. Especially considering it was very advanced technology. 

‘We’re going to go to my room.’ Keith signed before taking Lance’s hand. Lance was only a bit confused as to what was happening but accepted it and let Keith lead him. When they got into Keith’s room, Lance was a bit surprised.

The room was a bit on the bigger side. It had some standard things. A long closet built in the wall, a full sized bed with a nightstand, a full body mirror near the door that Lance was jealous of, and a desk with a swivel seat. But it was the decor that surprised him. Keith’s walls were littered with so many posters of bands and other punk looking things that Lance did not know what the wall color was. The desk not only had a laptop but a record player and a lava lamp. There was a clear bin next to the desk Lance assumed had various records. There was also a guitar set up with electric guitars on the wall where there were not posters. On the back of the door that lead to what Lance would assume was a bathroom, was a dart board that not only had darts in it but also two small throwing knifes. The lighting was a bit darker with the window being covered with black curtains.

Keith took a seat on his bed and began going through his backpack. Lance noticed that behind Keith’s bed, which was black besides a few other colors on some pillows, was many Polaroids on the wall. Most of them were beautiful pictures of scenery or other aesthetic images. But there were some of people. Some people he did not know such as a sweet older looking couple. But he recognized ones such as Shiro, Pidge, Rolo, and Mat.

“Never would have thought you’d be interested in photography.” Lance joked while sitting down next to Keith. Lance also had a bunch of Polaroids in his room, but did not think it’d also be Keith’s thing as well. He liked it. Keith shrugged while getting the last of his things out. They started working on the homework Lance needed help with, but eventually Lance got a bit board. Keith did not know how, but eventually he found himself drawing in a sketchbook while Lance was going through his stuff. He found it amusing that Lance was interested in his shit. Well, interested was not the correct word. He was more curious than anything. Lance was interested in what records he had though. 

It was then Keith realized something. He liked the look of Lance in his room. His room was full of many dark colors, but Lance dressed in more brighter ones. He stood out but at the same time looked like he belonged there. Keith could feel deep in his gut that it was a metaphor for something.

“So, do you like collect them or just have a lot?” Lance asked while going through the bin, knocking Keith out of his thoughts. 

Keith held up the notebook after writing ‘I just have a bunch, but I do like to buy bands I don’t know about.’ 

Lance let out a chuckle. “I can tell. I haven’t even heard about some of these bands.” Soon though he moved away from the records with one in his hand. Lance put it on the player and started it. Keith did not quite recognize it, but was surprised to see Lance already swaying to the rhythm. It was more upbeat than what Keith unusually listened. Must have been one of the random records he got on sale. He put down the sketchbook in favor of watching Lance. He was not the best dancer, but his hips made up for it. Eventually Keith found his foot moving with the beat as well. But he was more focused on the other as he went towards Keith’s closet. He watched Lance take off his hoodie and threw it at Keith’s direction, but it did not even make it to the bed. Keith got up and walked over to see what Lance was doing.

Lance had grabbed one of Keith’s leather jackets and put it on. Keith could only watch in confused interest as Lance checked himself in the mirror. He tried a variation of poses but Lance felt it just did not suit him. The other disagreed in his head. Keith grinned as Lance put the jacket back disappointingly. “Whatcha smiling at mullet?” Lance asked sarcastically with a grin similar to Keith’s. He rolled his eyes as he turned to put back his nightstand. From a drawer in it, he pulled out his camera. It was an old antique his adoptive father found while out of town when Keith was younger. It was one of the first things he received when he moved in. 

While Lance was distracted putting on a large flannel, Keith took a photo of him. The light and noise caught Lance’s attention. He turned to see Keith with a light blush on his face and holding the picture. “Hey! It’s a crime to take pictures of me when I’m not ready.” He walked towards the other and snatched the film out of his hand. But, it was a nice photo. It was angled in a way that showed Lance’s side profile in the midst of him doing some pose for the mirror. He handed the photograph back to Keith. “You’re excused.” he said with a smirk.

Later into the day, after Lance went home and Keith was laying on his bed with some music playing, Keith stared at the photograph of Lance. The expression on his face in it was dream-like. So calm but with a hint of satisfaction from the look of the outfit. It captured that same look that made the butterflies fly in his stomach. He let out a huff. Keith needed to control himself before this crush takes over his life again. Though he feared it already was.

He used the thumbtack in his other hand to stick the photo into the wall. As he observed his spot of photos, he wondered why he kept the ones with Rolo. There were three of them. One of him kissing Rolo on the cheek and another of Rolo leaning against a brick wall smoking a cigarette. The last one Nyma took of him and Rolo watching the sunset on top his ex’s car. Although Keith did not like to think of Rolo, that day forever stayed in his memories. It was the first time since the incident he had been in a car with someone other than his adoptive family. It was scary yet meaningful. He was an asshole to others, but it really did seem like Rolo cared about Keith. Then the night at the party happened and-

Keith shook his head slowly. It was all in the past. No need to worry or think about it. But Keith still decided to leave the photos up on the wall. Maybe one day he could bring himself to throw them out. But that day was not today.


End file.
